Chapter 2

THE PRICE OF WONDER (2)

 

“I want slavery to be abolished in the Stark Kingdom and make it punishable by crime, right this moment.”

Just what was I thinking when saying that? That too directly in the face of a king. Did I stretch my demands too far?

The whole court went in silence on hearing my words. It was so eerie that I would have loved to say it was only a joke and just wanted to catch them by surprise. However, the circumstances around me were too grave to let me do that now.

I was serious about this.

Traveling through the Demon Continent and Human Continent, it was the first thing I wished did not exist here. Seeing so many cages filled with species of all ages in ports and towns was making me feel apprehensive. The first beast man village where I met with Lu, the orphanage where Maia and Caige lived had all been harmed because of it.

Slavery might be a common sight to the people of this world. But being from another world it wasn’t right for me to just come and force my opinions on them.

Of course, this would create havoc for those who make earning from it and how deep it runs in the veins of a city dependent on trading and dealing in goods and as a labor force. Making my demand unreasonable which made me appear as a lunatic.

Don’t tell me they would try to silence me here.

“Yes, I will do it.” The one who decided to quell the silence was Arya.

And a stream of chatters filled the room. The King and the Queen looked anxious but it was not as sharp I was expecting it to be. Instead of setting up a panic mode, it seemed more of a discussion.

Arya smiled at me while also explaining something to her father leaving me at a loss for words.

I didn’t want to make fighting slavery and freeing the world my motto but starting from one prominent kingdom was sure to catch attention.

I don’t know how far I can go with this. I can’t just come from another world and ask them to stop. I needed to give them an alternative too. If a hasty decision is made to end the slave market, it would greatly affect the lives of those involved even when I think they are scum for doing it.

“In return, I would like to establish the main branch of my medicine business in Stark City.”

The court was again hushed and this time it was the King who looked at me.

“What kind of medicine? Would you please elaborate?”

“It’s an excellent health potion that I created and would like to bring it to market.” I know my medicine is something that can affect a Kingdom’s future greatly if I directly make a deal with a specific nation.

But the biggest question was will they actually believe me.

“The healing potions miss Alicia is talking about, I have already seen it in action when pirates attacked our ship. It can cure even the most severe and life-threatening injuries in an instant. In fact, I would call it a healing elixir in its truest form.”

‘Is it that good?’

‘If the princess is speaking so highly about it, then it must be.‘

“We need to get our hands on it first before anyone else does. It could change the future of our kingdom.’

They do realize I am still standing here. But Arya putting in a good word for me was a positive sign. And the ministers now could not stop talking about it.

“My daughter and I have conferred, and we have decided to put an end to slavery starting tomorrow. The royal documents will be prepared immediately. And lady Alicia you are free to review the reforms and the new laws any time you wish.” The King announced and the court members seemed to be prepared for it.

“Alicia, do you understand what they meant by it? I never expected it to be so simple.” Regis asked me with a puzzled face.

“I would like to know the same.”

Just what was happening? Was it really that easy?

“Miss Alicia, let me explain. The truth is, our Kingdom had been wanting to utilize the full potential of our sea routes and wanted to reach out to new lands, the Demon Continent. But in no way we would want to directly confront the demon lords and I highly doubt they would give the permission. So, our best option was to start from the free cities.”

Of course, I remember Caige, mentioning that there are many free cities because of how big the demon continent is. So, the Stark Kingdom would not need anyone’s permission if they traded with them.

But they can only look to continue for a healthy trading system only if they can earn the trust of the inhabitants of the Demon Continent.

“So, you want to say you have been planning this for a long time.”

“Yes, but we were always in debate and then the tragedy occurred. But with your help and strong product, we can actually make this happen.”

Arya’s words appeared to be confident. For earning the demons’ trust, they needed a product that would be in great demand by everyone, like my healing potion, and by abolishing slavery they show goodwill to them.

In return, they can ask for the same treatment from the places they trade with to not enslave humans. It all fits so well, that Arya might have been anticipating this to happen.

"Do you truly believe that the world can become free of slavery, Alicia?" Regis asked me and I could see her being overwhelmed by all of this.

Of course, the most affected race by slavery were the elves. They were the highest in demand because of their longevity, noble stature, beauty, and strong magic.

“Yes, I do believe it's possible. It may not happen overnight, but we can’t just leave it like that.” I replied.

Another reason for my decision was seeing how sorrowful Regis was when we saved the orphanage children from being sold into slavery by the bandits.

After the court was closed. I wanted to see the reforms and measures they were coming for in a replacement for the slavery system. The ministers were hard at work drafting and making arrangements for announcing it in public as the King’s decree.

Accordingly, they had instead decided to settle on a contract system with an employer and employee status. Things like salary, working hours, conditions, and the job would be negotiable and both parties would have the power to refuse or accept the deal.

It was almost unbelievable to me, that they could come so close to modern reforms. And that was only the gist. The whole plan was more elaborate while being kept simple so that the common people could understand and no one could exploit the system.

Regis, Hana, and I were now going back to our room and from there we would decide what to do next.

“Alicia if you want to sell healing potions then are you planning to stay here for a while,” Regis asked me recalling what we discussed in the throne room.

“Not at all. By schedule, Caige and Maia will be arriving here the day after tomorrow and will take care of all of it.”

“Then where are we going to?” Regis asked me.

“We will be going to the library.”

“Huh! But didn’t we check the entire library earlier? And you yourself said there was nothing to be found.” Seems like Regis did not like that place much.

“Yeah, but this time we will be searching for something new.”

“What would that be master? Could it be about foo…” Hana seemed to be suddenly motivated and I could see her giving me a starving look.

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“We will be learning all about the labyrinths we can find here,” I explained.

“…Okay.” Suddenly I could see a tired look on Hana’s face.

“Why do you want to do that?” I hadn’t still told Regis about my dream because I know she would make fun of me for being scared of it.

“I think it’s time we should be exploring some labyrinths.”

“Then we get to hunt monsters.”

I guess I do not need to further explain to her because Regis was now fired up.

We had already got Alfred escorting us to the records and library section and we could look at anything we wanted.

Turns out that there are not many dungeons in this kingdom, to begin with. That would certainly help if I am able to quickly spot the right one.

Also, I wanted to know how guilds worked in the human Continent and about adventurers as well. Nothing struck me much differently from the fantasy games I used to play back in my previous world.

But there was only one thing of concern, for entering a labyrinth we needed to be adventurers from the guild.

I guess I have to just sneak in to avoid being noticed.

During our search, Arya came to visit and check on us.

“Thank you Arya for listening to my request.”

“No. I am glad that it turned out to be something that I wanted to do for a long time.”

From my discussions with Arya and what she has told me, she wanted to go past the two hundred years old animosity between the humans and the demon continent. And that made me more hopeful that the plan would work.

I am sure mother and father would be happy to hear that there is someone out there who thinks like this.

“Arya could you tell us if there has been something unusual regarding any dungeons.”

The moment I asked Arya, Regis gave me a stern eye, as if saying that this was the first time she was hearing this.

“Let me think.” With a brief thought Arya recalled, “Actually, there is.”

Arya walked to a huge map of the entire Stark kingdom drawn on the wall. Her hands reached to point at a singular place almost near the borders of the Kingdom.

“Recently a new Dungeon has appeared right here, and it shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. But according to the reports from the guild, several adventurers have gone missing inside.”

That would be odd for a new dungeon because it should not harbor any strong monsters. Well, that just means it could be a good bet to check it out.

“The guild has issued a special team to look into the matter for now, so we have still not intervened or started our own investigation. I hope everything turns out fine.”

Suddenly, my head sparked as if I had an epiphany when reading the name of the place where the dungeon appeared.

I ran through the library to get hold of a book I skimmed through yesterday enumerating the history of that place.

“⸻That book!” Arya looked pleased. “That’s one of my favorite adventures of the True Hero.”

“Why what happened? Has it do something with the dungeon?” Regis was now being inquisitive as well.

“I cannot say that without any evidence. But as it so happens, during the Great War, the Stark Kingdom like many other places too was part of the battleground. Horror was all around and the biggest threat to humanity at that time was an evil goddess who had taken the side of the devils. Many people lost their lives and the kingdom’s army was on the verge of collapse. That’s when the True Hero appeared and battled the goddess.”

“What happened then?” Hana was listening to the story like a little kid enchanted by the superficial and fantasy.

“Legend has it that the battle raged on for an extended period of time, with the True Hero unable to overcome the might of the goddess. However, in a feat of extraordinary power, she managed to seal the evil goddess right there on the battlefield. The exact method of the sealing remains a mystery, and although there are written accounts, no one has been able to verify the existence of the goddess seal to this day. Despite the lack of proof, I've always held fast to my belief in this incredible tale.” Arya was really a huge fan of mother and right now she had the bright, innocent eyes of a young maiden.

If that’s true why have I not heard of any of this before? Neither mother told me about this, nor there were any similar records at home. I don’t doubt Arya’s words, in fact, this just makes me more curious now.

Glancing at the map, I couldn't help but chuckle at the frenzied name of the place.

"I think I'll make my way over there," I said, pointing to the spot on the map. "The Shrine of Malice."

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